Dispensing machines for cans and other cylindrically shaped packages



March 14, 1961 L. STEINER DISPENSING MACHINES FOR CANS AND OTHERCYLINDRICALLY SHAPED PACKAGES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 8, 1958 muQWH FL PR m m R INVENTOR. IOU/5 STE/NEQ ATTOQNEX March 14, 1961 L.STEINER 2,974,829

DISPENSING MACHINES FOR CANS AND OTHER CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED PACKAGESFiled April 8, 1958 3 $heets$heet 2 Pint.

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VIII 4Z7$llllllllllllllllflll INVENTOR. LOUIS STE/NEE 7'7'02/VEX March14, 1961 STEINER 2,974,829

DISPENSING MACHINES FOR CANS AND OTHER CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED PACKAGES 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 8, 1958 W ll INVENTOR. LOU/5 STE/NEE'lllllllllllt ,4 7' TORNEX United States Patent DISPENSING MACHINES FORCANS AND OTHER CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED PACKAGES Louis Steiner, 812 E. ParkSt., Long Beach, N.Y.

Filed Apr. 8, 1958, Ser. No. 727,166

' 4 Claims. (Cl. 221-451) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in dispensing machines, and is particularly directed to anapparatus for dispensing merchandise packed in cans, such as cans ofsoup, or other cylindrically shaped packages.

Previous devices representing the mechanical dispensing art haveprovided a chute to contain a stack of articles to be dispensed, andmeans of pushing out the bottom article of the stack upon pulling ahandle and then releasing it. In dispensing cans stacked horizontally ontheir sides in a chute, difficulty has been encountered in that, insliding the bottom can out of the stack, the edge seam rims of thelowermost can will catch on the edge seam rims of the next higher can inthe stack. Another difiiculty in such operation is that the weight ofthe entire stack of cans, and their contents is supported on thelowermost can which must be pushed out with the weight of the stackthereon.

One major object of this invention is to provide a novel, improved, andhighly efficient dispensing machine of the character described providedwith a chute of stacked cans, means for supporting all of the cans inthe stack above the lowermost can, while the lowermost can is allowed todrop, and means for then moving the dropped, lowermost can out of thechute.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in a dispensingmachine of the character described, a pivoted member having fingersmovable into engagement with the underside of the second lowest can ofthe stack and supporting the stack of cans while the lowest can isremoved from the chute, and movable out of engagement after thelowermost can has been removed, to permit the stack to drop in thechute.

Another important object of this invention is to provide in a dispensingmachine as described, a movable pull handle having a platform which isoperationally interconnected with the pivoted member, and which willserve to support the column of cans and to push the lowest can of thestack out of the chute, and which will move the pivoted member out ofengagement with respect to the stack of cans, as the dropped lowermostcan is being pushed out and dispensed.

A further object of this invention is to provide, in a machine asdescribed above, a pull handle controlled platform mounted on a supportplate, said platform operable to push the lowest can of a stack out ofthe chute, and to cause the pivoted member to disengage the remainingcans as the platform is moved in one direction, and said platform beingoperable to support the stack of cans releasedby the pivoted member andwhich is further operable to allow the pivoted member to re-engage thesecond highest can of the stack as the platform is moved forwardly,whereupon the platform will move out from under the bottom can of thestack, allowing the stack of cans to fall onto the supporting plate andthus recreating the original position of the parts of the machine.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a dispensingmachine of the type described, which is inexpensive to manufacture,simple in design, few in parts, smooth and positive in operation, anddependable in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope of invention will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown various illustrativeembodiments of this invention:

Fig. 1 is a partially cut away side view of a dispensing deviceembodying the invention, showing some of the parts in broken lines;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional fragmentary view of the device of theinvention;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a partly sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the device; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary end plan view of a portion of the device.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a dispensingdevice 16 embodying the invention. Said device 1t comprises a housing11. The housing 11 consists of a bottom wall 12, a pair of side walls 13extending upwardly therefrom, a rear wall 14, and a short front wall 15.The front wall 15 of the housing is provided with a row of spacedopenings 16, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described. Asupporting shelf or support plate 17 extends rearwardly from the frontwall 15 just underneath openings 16 and between the side walls 13. Shelf:17 terminates short of rear wall 14. The walls of the enclosure may bemade of steel or any other suitable material. A length of channelsection rolled steel 18 extends between the side walls 13 at a positionspaced forwardly of the rear wall 14 and above the mounting shelf 17,somewhat rearwardly of the rear edge 17a thereof. A row of chutes 19 areformed in vertical position extending between the side walls 13. Thechutes are each comprised of a pair of similar symmetrical channelshaped steel side members 20, which have parallel elongated central webs21 and parallel rear flanges 22a and front flanges 2212 which areperpendicular to the webs and extend inwardly. The rear flanges 22a ofthe channel are fastened to the web 18a of the channel 18, as bywelding, the outer channel member of each end chute may be fastened toan adjacent side wall 13. The central sections 21 of the channel membersof each pair of adjacent chutes are also fastened together by welding orby any other suitable means. The central sections or webs 21 of thechannel members 20 making up the chutes, must be of a width, from frontto rear, at least as great as the horizontal or axial length of thearticles to be dispensed. A horizontal bar 25 extends between the sidewalls 13 at the lower front end of the chutes 19. Bar 25 is formed witha forwardly turned ear 26 at each end thereof. The ears 26 may be weldedto the inner surfaces of side walls 13 of the enclosure 11. The rearflanges 22a of the chutes are foreshortened and terminate at points 24spaced above the shelf 17 and below channel 18. The front flanges 22bare similarly foreshortened, forming lower edges 24a above lower edges24.

A rod 27 extends horizontally between the ears 26 of bar 25 in parallelspaced relation in front of said bar.

3 Pivotally mounted on the rod 27 in front of each chute 19 is a rockermember 28. The rockers are each constructed of a channel shaped bodyportion 29, having end fianges 29a at each side of a central portion29b. The rod 27 passes through holes 30 in the flanges .29 1. Webs 29bare locatedbetween the bar 25 and rod 27. Thus, each channel body 29 ismounted for limited oscillation about the rod 27. At the upper cornersof the channel body 29 are a pair of spaced support members 31 attachedthereto by spot welding and formed with rearwardly extending fingers 32.i

Attached to each channel body 29, is a downwardly extending guide bar33. A coil spring 34 is attached to the web portion 29 of the rocker .atthe lower end thereof adjacent the guide bar '33. The opposite end ofeach coil spring member 34 is attached to the inside of the front walljust above the openings 16 or to any other suitable anchor or support.

The horizontal bar is formed with an upstanding guide plate 25a at thecenter of each chute 19. The guide plates 25a may be welded to thehorizontal bar 25 at the lower ends thereof and extend upwardly abovethe lower edges 24a of the front flanges 22b of the chute side members20. The purpose of the guide plates 25a is to hold the merchandise inplace in the chutes as it passes below the lower edges 24a of the chuteflanges. The lower edges of the chute are above fingers 32 in order topermit the fingers to move into the chutes 19, as will appearhereinafter. The guide plates 25a will also limit the rocking movementof the rockers 28.

The mounting shelf 17 is formed with a slot 17a parallel to the sidewalls 13 of the case, directly beneath each chute 19. Spaced from eachslot 17a and parallel to said slot, are a pair of parallel elongatedshim strips 35, which are mounted on the top surface of the mountingshelf 17. A pair of guide strips 36 are fixed to the top of the shims 35by belts or rivets 37. The guide strips 36 are wider than the shims 35,thus overhang the shims in the direction of theslots 17a.

A platform 38 rests on the mounting plate over each slots 17a. Theplatforms seen in Fig. l are constructed of sheet metal. Each platformis formed with a top wall 39, a pair of side walls 40 extendingdownwardly from the top wall, and a pair of outwardly facing lower endflange walls 41 at the lower ends of the side walls. At the front end ofeach platform, the top wall 39 is formed with a downwardly extending tab42 and the side walls are formed at their front ends with inwardlyfacing tabs 43. One side wall 40 is provided with an L-shaped engagingmember 44 which has a straight portion 45 fixed to the side wall 40 ofthe platform and an outwardly extending tab portion 46 for a purposewhich will be later described.

The side walls'4t) of the platform 38 fit between the guide members 36on the mounting plate 17. The outwardly extending lower end flanges 41of the platform fit under the guide members 36 so as to be slidablealong and on the mounting plate =17 over a slot 17a and in alignmentwith said slot as guided by the shims 35 and guide members 36. The tabportions 46 of the bracket 44 are always to be positioned on the sameside of the slots 17a as the downwardly extending bars 33 of the rockers28. The bars 33 of the claw rockers normally pass along one side wall 40of the platforms in close relation thereto to be engaged by a flange orfinger 45.

Located within each platform 38 is a block 47. Extending downwardly fromblock 47 is a hook 48 which passes through a slot 17a. The block 47 isformed with an opening 49 in the front end thereof. 'A rod 50 is fixedlyreceived within opening 49. By means of rod 50 a handle is attached tothe block 47. The platform tabs 43 cover the front end of block 47 sothatit cannot be pulled out ofthe platform 38. The reciprocating handle51 is formed with a flat end portion .52 which engages rod 50. The outerends of 'flat portion 52 impinge upon tabs 43 of the platform so thatthe handle 51 can push the movable platform 38 directly and can pull theplatform by means of rod 50 attached to block 47. -The forward end ofhandle 51 extends through opening 16 in the front wall of the case andcurves downwardly at the front end to form a handle grip 53. The topwall 39 of platform 38 is spaced above block 47.

When handle 51 is in its rearward position as shown in Fig. 1, theplatform 38 will underlie a chute 19. Tab 46 of bracket 44 on theplatform will engage in front of lever arm 33, thus rotating the rocker28 against the action of spring 34 so as to withdraw the fingers 32 fromthe chute. In the illustrations, the chutes are shown loaded with anumber of tin cans 55 to be dispensed. The tin cans are in horizontalposition and are Supported by platform 38. Each tin can 55 is formedwith a usual edge seam rim 56 which projects slightly from the body ofthe tin can.

As the handle grip 53 is pulled forwardly towards the operator, theplatform 38 will move forwardly towards the position of Fig. 4. As theplatform moves toward the front wall 15 of the case, the tab 46 on theplatform will release the lever arm 33 because it moves away from saidlever arm. Spring 34 will then pull on the body of the rocker and rotatethe rocker body so that the projections 32 extend into the chute 19. Therocker will move beneath the second lowest can in the stack on oppositesides of the center thereof, as shown in Fig. 8. As the platform isfinally moved to its extreme forward position, limited by hook 48abutting the end of slot 17a, the lowermost can supported by theplatform will be dropped onto the mounting plate 17, while the remainingcans in the stack drop onto the fingers 32. The lowermost can cannotmove forwardly with the plate form because its movement is limited bybar 25. Bar 18, at the rear of the chute and edges 24 are high enough sothat the can can be pushed rearwardly out underneath it. A rotary arm 58may be mounted on a rod 59 within the lower portion of the case 11. Atorsion spring 60 is wound around rod 59 and has one end resting on thebottom wall 12 of the case. The other end 61 of the spring engages a rod62 which presses on book 48 and forces the hook rearwardly, when thehandle is released, after it has been fully pulled forwardly and thelowermost can has dropped onto the platform, and the remainder of stackhas been caught by fingers 32. As the hook 48 moves rearwardly, theplatform 38 moves rearwardly therewith, pushing with its rearward endagainst the lowermost can 55 and sliding the can out from under thechute and off the back of the mounting plate 17 so that it drops to thebottom wall 12 from where it can be taken by the operator.

It should be noted that while the platform 38 is pushing the lowermostcan, the rest of the stack of cans is supported by the projection 32 ofthe rocker 28. As the platform is moved rearwardly, however, the tab 46attached to the platform, will engage lever arm 33. As the platformpasses under the chute 19, the lever arm 33 will rock the rocker againsttension of the spring 34 to move projections 32 forwardly out of thechute, thus disengaging the stack of cans, and the stack of cans willthen fall downwardly onto the top wall 39 of the platform 38, as shownin Fig. 5 and Fig. 1. Thus the parts have returned to their originalposition with the exception of the one can which has been removed fromthe stack and dispensed by the machine.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which theseveral objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adaptedto meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth,it is to be understood that the matter set forth above or shown in theaccompanying drawings is merely illustrative and is not to beinterpreted in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention beingdelineated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a casing having a bottom wall, side walls, and a rearwall, a front wall and a shelf extending rearwardly from the front walland terminating short of rear wall, a vertical chute supported in thecasing and above the shelf, a platform slidable on the shelf frombeneath said chute, forwardly thereof, a pull handle connected to saidplatform, a rocker mounted for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis infront of said chute and located above the handle, said rocker having atits upper end, a pair of fingers extending rearwardly on opposite sidesof the middle of the chute, said platform having a lug, a bar fixed tosaid rocker and engaging in back of the lug, spring pull means connectedto the lower end of the rocker, tending to move the fingers on therocker rearwardly into the chute, said platform, when it is beneath thechute, having its lug engaging the bar to swing the rocker against thepull of the spring, for keeping said fingers out of said chute.

2. The combination of claim I, in combination with means on the shelffor guiding the platform for reciprocating movement on the shelf.

3. The combination of claim 2, said pull handle having a portion locatedwithin the platform, and said platform having a top wall spaced abovethe portion of the handle located therein.

4. The combination of claim 3, said platform having a slot, a hook onthe handle projecting through said slot, and spring means engaging saidhook to retract the handle and platform after the handle is pulled andreleased.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS427,509 Hayden May 6, 1890 984,223 Jones Feb. 14, 1911 1,416,219Litchfield May 16, 1922 1,758,390 Curtis May 13, 1930 2,432,561 De MottDec. 16, 1947 2,552,481 Eberhardt et a1. May 8, 1951 2,585,872 SteinerFeb. 12, 1952

